The Capra Special
by Kusco
Summary: When a Holiday disaster drives Annie to wish she'd never been part of the Study Group, an Angel gives her a glimpse into what Greendale would have been like if that happened. Yeah, it's a Community Take on "It's a Wonderful Life". Deal with it. Part 1 of my Community Christmas series.
1. Chapter 1

Authors note: I originally wrote this before Christmas of the third season. So that's when it takes place, no mention of Regional Holiday Music mentioned.

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><p>Annie's eyes ached.<p>

She wanted to believe it was from staring at screen of the computer in the study room for too long; And to be fair, that was certainly part of it. She'd probably stared at that screen for over an hour.

Actually... 'looked' wasn't quite right. When you looked at something you paid your full attention to it and took it in. She'd 'looked' at the screen for what felt like a half the day now without so much as touching the keyboard or mouse. So really, she less 'looked' and more 'stared' at the screen. Or perhaps she 'gazed' or even 'glared' at it.

All that was left to do at this point was to hit the 'send' button and it would be done. She could get out of her chair, leave the library, and never step foot in it again. Not at all how she always imagined her last day at Greendale.

She always figured that she would walk out proudly, head held high, holding Troy and Abed's hands or maybe even Jeff's. Shirley and Britta would be right behind them yammering excitedly about after graduation parties and get-togethers and Pierce would be in step behind them all, wiping a tear from his eye.

At the moment however, Annie's eyes were the only ones with tears. And that was the other reason her they ached.

Her letter of withdrawal from school stared back at her on the computer screen. Cold and unfeeling; waiting for her to send it and finally accept how all by herself, little Annie Adderall ruined Christmas and destroyed her Study Group. Even if the Dean did find a way to replace the money she lost, it didn't erase that she bore all the blame. Which was why this was her last day at school.

Annie's hand brushed against the mouse and her fingers fumbled over top until it sat under her palm and her index finger rested on the small indent designed to aid in the all important 'mouse click'.

She glanced over her shoulder for a second, sure that she wasn't alone. Shirley, or Abed were maybe there to talk her out of this? They were always quickest to forgive. But after a moment of staring in the mostly darkened study room, Annie released a slow defeated breath. Nobody else was in the room. As always, she was alone.

The tiny arrow cursor blinked on the screen. Annie focused her eyes on it, and the box it hovered over. She drew in another breath and started applying pressure to the mouse. She let the breath go and closed her eyes and fell completely silent so she heard with perfect clarity when her finger pushed all the way down and the mouse made a resounding 'click'.

Done.

She opened her eyes at the screen. The message had been sent.

She was now, no longer a student at Greendale Community College.

The thought hit her like being tackled by Fat Neil. It was all over for her. No more classes, no more chicken fingers, no more insane dances, and no more study group. She'd walk out of Greendale exactly as she entered it.

Alone.

Completely alone. And the worst part was that she knew she deserved it. She single handedly destroyed her friends school careers, and ruined Christmas. She'd cried only once since it had all happened but now with her withdrawal hovering somewhere in cyberspace, aimed at Dean Pelton's inbox, the tears welled up again and threatened to break her currently stoic demeanor.

She sucked in a long and calming breath, but her chest shook at the effort and her hands quivered as she tried to switch the computer off. She finally managed that and was even proud of herself for not forgetting her books and knick-knacks, scattered around the table. Once they were safely secured in her backpack she turned around and aimed herself for the exit.

However, she stopped cold at the sight of the study room table. The one with notches carved into it celebrating "Classic Winges" and "Ab Mentions". The same table she sat at three years ago as a girl eager to prove herself and leave the school as quickly as possible, only to find herself a new family and a new life better than anything she'd ever had before.

And that's what did it. Annie cupped one hand over her mouth and did her best to choke back the tears but just the memories of the silly little notches alone tipped her over the edge. Quiet sobs escaped her mouth as she hugged herself and it was all that she could do to stay on her feet.

Troy, Abed, Britta, Pierce, Shirley, and… and Jeff. She had hurt them all so much, and for what? Her pride? Her arrogance in thinking that none of them could actually succeed in Biology class? With shaky steps she inched toward the exit. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear her vision. As she passed the table, she caught a glimpse of her own reflection in the study room window. For a brief instant she thought her reflection didn't show herself as she was now, but the pathetic, overweight, drug- addled teenager she had been less than a year before she ever came to this school.

Fitting. That's who she really was deep down.

She clasped the door handle and swallowed hard, ready to walk out of the study room one final time. Annie tried again, to suffocate the tears and sobs with a deep breath. She had to get out of the library as fast as her legs would take her. Otherwise she ran the risk of someone finding her sobbing in a corner. She might have screwed everything up but she didn't want them to see her like this. Even if they didn't care at this point.

_It would have been best if I never came here,_ She thought as her legs started picking up speed. _Little Annie Adderall's best talent was ruining every good thing she ever had. It would have been best if I had never been part of the study group!_

Annie reached out to push the library door open only to jump at a large crash to her side and twist her body just in time to catch a blur of motion rushing straight at her. She tried dodging out of the way but she didn't get half a step in before it collided with her and slammed her to the ground. Her head spun and her vision swam until it blackened and went out all together.

When her head finally cleared and she opened her eyes, Annie had to scrunch them back shut to block out the headache. She briefly caught a glimpse of someone standing over her, breathing heavily. Probably whoever was responsible for giving her a concussion.

"Are you alright?" an unmistakable voice cracked in her ears.

"Garrett?" she pinched the bridge of her nose. "What happened? Why did you knock me down?"

"I'm sorry Annie Edison! It was an accident, I'm… I'm not very good at flying… and I'm not Garrett!"

Annie forced her eyes open and ignored the tiny lighting bolts of pain that shot in her head. She held a hand over the top of her skull and did her best to sit up. The room spun and she sucked in a breath, hoping oxygen would remove the urge to vomit.

When she looked up she saw Garrett sitting in front of her dressed like some kind of hobo.

"Seriously," Annie cupped her hand on the other side of her head. "What happened Garrett?"

"I was trying to land when I crashed into you… and I'm not Garrett."

With the dizziness finally wearing off, Annie stared at Garrett, wondering what the hell his game was. If he was going to pester anyone in the study group, it would be Jeff or maybe Pierce. She never interacted with him.

A twinge of pain accompanied her thoughts of the study group. Getting knocked off one's feet had the tendency to make one forget about their immediate problem and focus on making sure the head was still attached to the neck. Now that Annie knew she could stand, she could feel the regret and guilt rushing back.

"I have to go," she muttered as she stood.

She planted one hand against the wall and leaned into it like someone would a cane. Garrett righted himself and came to her side. "I can help you, you know. That's what I'm here for."

"It's fine Garrett," she shook her head. "I can get to my car on my own. I'm used to doing things on my own."

"I know," he nodded. "That's the way you feel right now isn't it? That you're completely alone, that nobody cares about you, and that even if they did, you don't deserve it. And I'm here to tell you that you're wrong. You're making a terrible mistake by leaving the school and I've been sent to stop you."

Annie narrowed her eyes at her fellow student… well former fellow student. A sudden urge to run crept up in the back of her mind. Had he been following her? Stalking her? That was the only explanation. Of all the ways this day could get worse, being stalked by Garrett had to be thrown on top of it.

"I don't know how you know all of this Garrett but I don't have time!" she tried taking another step but the dizziness returned and threatened her balance. She straightened up and pulled her features into the best intimidating face she could at the moment. "If I catch you around me I'll call the police."

"Annie wait," Garrett panted as he ran a few steps in front of her. "I'm not Garret!"

"I said I don't have time for this!"

"But I'm not! I'm not Garrett at all! I'm your guardian angel!"

For a moment she stared at the constantly exasperated student that blocked her way and then she shook her head and looked around. "Very funny Abed!" she shouted to the ceiling or maybe the walls. "It's a Wonderful Life! I get it! This isn't funny anymore!"

This isn't one of Abed's bits!" Garrett waved his hands, trying to get her attention back. "I really am your guardian angel and I really am here to help save you from making a terrible mistake!"

"Well even if you are an angel you're a little late don't you think?" Annie snapped her eyes to him. "Maybe if you'd shown up a few hours ago you could have done something! Because right now I've lost my friends, my school, and everything else that was important to me!"

"But it's not too late! It's never too late!" Garrett's voice grated on Annie's ears. Part of her wondered why, if anything he said was true, God hated her so much that he gave her Garrett, of all people, as her angel.

"It _is_ too late," she shook her head and her eyes flicked toward the door. "I've already dropped out and my stuff will be out of Troy and Abed's apartment before they even get home. Everyone will be better off without me here. They would have been better off without me ever having come."

"You can't say that!" Garrett grabbed the door handle so she couldn't leave. She turned on him and glared with everything she had.

"Garrett… this is none of your business, this is the second worst day of my life and I will lay you out if you force me to."

Just then, one of the nearby classroom doors opened and none other than Garrett walked out. He hummed to himself, completely off key, as he lumbered toward the exit. He nodded at Annie and then to…himself, who released the door so he could leave. Garrett took a few steps out the door then spun around and walked up to his doppelganger.

"I can see you're a fan," Garrett said to Garrett. "But there is really only one Garrett. So you better stay seated when they ask the real Garrett Lambert to please stand up."

Garrett flashed a 'gangsta' sign with his hands and stalked away. Annie watched him go and then turned her eyes to the Garrett that still stood beside her. He wore the same vacant, mouth breathing, expression that Garrett favored, had the same haircut and same angry eyes… but it was… it was impossible.

"That went a lot better than I expected!" Garrett said. "Now, back to-"

"What's going on!?" Annie backed away. "How can there be two of you?"

"I told you! I'm your Guardian Angel! I came here to help!"

"B… but… why does my Guardian Angel look like Garrett?"

"We figured we needed to take a form that you'd find harmless. I suggested a talking cat but Michael said it would be too Sailor Moon-esque. He's never liked Anime."

"What?"

"The Archangel Michael, my boss, he hates anime, except for Death Note. He thinks it's a guilty pleasur…"

"I've lost my mind!" Annie started sucking in breaths. "I'm having another episode! But… but I've been clean since high school! I can't… what's going on?"

"I told you…"

"No! I can't… but… this is…" Annie closed her eyes and silently counted to three. "Okay, let's assume for a second that I haven't lost my mind and you really are an angel sent to keep me from leaving the school. Why does that even matter? And if you really are an angel haven't you seen what happened today? There's no way I could keep attending school here. Not after I flunked my entire study group out of biology and possibly got us kicked out of school!"

"We've been watching you every since you were born," Garrett said. "And that's why I've been sent here. Greendale is where you need to be. Not just for yourself, but for your friends."

"I don't have any friends," Annie shook her head. "They all walked out on me after they found out what happened!"

"And that's when Jeff put the idea in your mind that you never should have come here."

"He's right," she nodded. "Maybe we had some good times in the past but everyone is going to fail because of me. Who knows if Jeff will be able to get his law degree back now! If I hadn't butted in and insisted on doing all the work, if they had counted on someone else, someone that didn't mess things up, this never would have happened. So yeah, Mister Angel Garrett or whoever the hell you are… I agree with Jeff! Everybody would have been better off if I'd never stepped foot in Greendale."

Annie finished her little speech with a huff and even had to clear out a streak of hair that toppled in front of her face while she spoke. Garrett stared at her and sighed before shaking his head and pacing down the hall in short, frustrated steps. Finally he looked at her and scratched his head.

"Everybody told me this would happen. Here I thought I'd get lucky. Even though it was Christmas time I thought, maybe I'd be different. Ugh… oh very well. One 'Capra Special' coming right up!"

"Caprawha…" Annie started, but the doors behind her flew open and a chill wind gusted past her, blowing her hair over her shoulders and causing her to hug her arms to her body.

"So here it is!" Garrett said. "As unoriginal as it is… the world where Annie Edison never attended Greendale."

"Uh huh…" Annie glanced over her shoulders. The doors had shut and snow already piled against the glass. It would be hell trying to get back home. Even if this was some weird alternate reality like Abed kept talking about, driving in this weather would be hell.

"Excuse me!" Chang's voice came from down the hall. Annie glanced around, looking for any place to hide. The last thing she wanted was to listen to Chang twist the knife in a little deeper. He wasn't even part of the study group, but she knew he'd try to do it, sadist that he was.

But he was already coming down the hall toward her and she had nowhere to hide, so all she could do was stand tall and try to get away as soon as possible. Of course, as he got closer Annie noticed he'd ditched his security guard uniform. In fact, he wore a sombrero of all things.

"Yeah I'm talking to you!" Chang picked up speed until he was practically on top of her. Annie felt her fingers curling up, ready to run or break his face.

"Don't worry Chang," Annie said. "I'm already leaving."

"That's _Señor_ Chang to you student! And if you're going to go then go. Just don't leave the door open. We're not going to heat up the whole city! My classroom is freezing already."

"Fine I'll… wait… what?"

"I'm trying to give a midterm in there, which is bad enough. I don't need you giving me hypothermia on top of it!"

Chang stared up at her with both hands on his hips. Oblivious to the obvious confusion that swept across her face with every passing second. Annie rocked back a small step before glancing over at Garrett. This had to be some weird joke. It couldn't be real. Could it?

"But Chang… you're not a Spanish teacher…"

"Of course I am! Yo hablar español muy mucho!"

"No… but you were fired! You were fired when they found out you don't actually know Spanish and you lied to the Dean to get the job."

Chang's eyes widened like he'd been punched in the gut. He pushed the top brim of his sombrero up so he could see her better. After a quick glance over his shoulder he stepped in closer and Annie had to fight the impulse to retreat. Something about the raw terror in his face…

"How did you know about that!?" He said, but almost as quickly, his eyes darted to her feet and crawled up her body. Then he nodded. "Oh… I get it. You're one of T-bone's girls aren't you? Yeah, you seem his type. Okay. Fine."

Chang grabbed her hand and before she could react he pushed a wad of bills into it.

"That's the best I can do," he whispered. "But if you ever need yourself an easy 'A' you'll have a seat in my class."

Annie stared at the money and then looked back at Chang. He just wore his creepy half smile as he backed off. He nodded to her once and she found herself nodding back dumbly. A small laugh came out of his mouth.

"Yeah, one of Barnes'… heh, good luck," then he glanced at Garrett. "As always Garrett, it's a pleasure."

"I know it is!" Garrett blathered.

Chang smirked and finally turned his back to them and headed for his classroom. As soon as his door clapped shut Annie rushed over to Garrett, who nearly fell over. He tried pulling away but Annie held his shoulders in the most vice-like grip her hands could manage.

"Okay you have to tell me what's going on! What was all that about!? Chang… he didn't recognize me! And he's not a teacher anymore! I reported him to the dean so my study group wouldn't break up at the end of our first year!"

"No you didn't!" Garrett's voice cracked and his eyes were still wide with fear. "I told you! This is a Capra Special. This is the world where you didn't come to Greendale and so you never tattled on Chang!"

"But that's impossible! Unless you're… unless you're an actual…"

Annie threw her head over her shoulder and her eyes narrowed on the school banner. Except it didn't say "Welcome to Greendale" like it always did, instead, it now read, "Welcome to City College South West Division!". She released her hold on Garrett and took a few steps back, nearly tripping as she twisted her head all around, trying to discover anything else that was off.

"Oh… oh my god…" Annie whirled about and locked her gaze on Garrett. "It's real! You really… I'm… I…"

Garrett… or Angel Garrett nodded and Annie did the only thing that made even a fraction of sense in her mind. She spun back around and dropped into a dead sprint. It was too much to take in. An angel that looked like Garrett, Señor Chang, City College… when she woke up this morning all she worried about was their Bio-final and what she would wear to Abed's "Christmas Rager". Now everything had changed… literally.

Annie rounded the corner and nearly bowled the dean over. Except he wasn't the dean. Oh sure, it was Craig Pelton alright. But he carried a mop and wore a janitor's uniform that seemed two sizes too big for him. He screamed girlier than Annie ever could and fell on his rear, splashing water all over himself from the bucket. Annie muttered a 'sorry' and kept running.

"Oh sure!" the Janitor-Dean called after her. "Just pretend I'm not here! It's no different than when I was dean!"

His words chased Annie down the hall but she only picked up speed. Still too much to take in. It was insane. How could her not having gone to Greendale have changed the Dean from being… well a dean and into a janitor. It made no sense!

Finally Annie reached her destination. The only real place, besides the study room she always felt safe in at Greendale. Maybe the only competitor would be the supply room the group met in for secret councils. But even that paled in comparison to the security she felt in the janitor's closet that she and Jeff sometimes caught each other in when one was having a bad day. Maybe the fact that she knew nobody else ever really used it made her felt secure. Maybe it was the easy access to as many tissues as she needed when she cried. She wasn't sure but she needed this space right now to collect herself.

Annie threw the door open and froze in place. Sure the closet was still there. At least her absence hadn't affected the architecture of the school. But the room was far from empty. In fact she knew both of the current occupants of the room; one of them quite well, the other… she thought she'd never see again.

But there they were. Shirley and her incredibly dull friend Gary, the Finn that had transferred the first year. And yet, here he stood, in mid-make out with Shirley. Both of them scrambled to rearrange their clothes, which looked like they had been in the process of removing.

"Sh… Shir…." Annie muttered, gripping the door frame hard enough that her knuckles went white.

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking before!?" Shirley snapped. Annie cupped her hand over her mouth and started retreating. It hurt when Shirley yelled at her a few hours ago back when they all found out what Annie had done. How did it hurt now when the entire world had been spun on its head?

"Oh…" Shirley's mean face melted away as soon as she realized how terrified Annie was. "I'm sorry sweetie… are you okay?"

"I… but… you…"

"My husband Gary and I were just sneaking away for a Christmas rendezvous," Shirley finished adjusting her shirt. "Apparently we should have remembered to lock the door."

"You know her?" Gary said in his oppressive monotone voice. Like if Ben Stein was on paxil and reading the dictionary.

"No," Shirley shrugged and patted his chest. "Why don't you go and get the car. We shouldn't have been sneaking around the school anyway."

"She not look well," Gary said with all the energy of a yawn. "I take her to health center?"

"You get the car honey," Shirley said and held a hand out to Annie. "Why don't you come with me dear? You don't look at all well."

Gary moved at a pace that would make a snail feel like a NASCAR driver and Annie watched him before turning back to Shirley, still wearing her look of motherly concern. Apparently Garrett the Angel could violate all of space and time and change the fabric of reality, but he couldn't stop Shirley from being the ultimate mother.

Still Annie reeled from the shock of it all.

"You… _he's_ your husband?" she finally managed.

A girlish smile spread across Shirley's lips and her eyes lit up just a bit. "Yes, isn't he wonderful? We met in one of our classes three years ago. And we just got married last month."

"But… but…" Annie shook her head. "Isn't he… he seems…"

"Perfect? I know," Shirley said. "We spend most of our time in quiet contemplation of our happiness. And much of the rest of the time we play a game of trying to understand each other. But we never fight. We don't even laugh much. But when he kisses me, that's how I know he's in the same room."

The more Shirley spoke of her new husband the slower and sleepier her voice got. Annie even found her eyes drooping a little with each word. Shirley looked ready to let out a yawn but then she jerked up as if awakening.

"But listen to me, going on about my life to a total stranger! You'd swear we were old friends! You're sure you're okay sweetie?"

"I... don't know," Annie said.

"Well my name is Shirley Jääskeläinen." Annie blinked, she just heard it said and she still wasn't sure how to repeat it. Shirley continued like that name was as simple as 'Miller' or 'Bennett'. "If you ever need someone to talk to… Jesus can always hear you. Tis the season after all! Merry Christmas!"

Shirley started down the hall and Annie stood in place, watching her before she finally couldn't stop herself. "Shirley! Shirley! Wait!"

"Yes dear?" Shirley turned toward her a little.

Annie's breath caught for a second as a nervous flutter hit her stomach. She had to know.

"Why did you marry Gary?"

"Well…" Shirley's features flattened into a thoughtful look. "I suppose… he was there. I had no one I could really talk to. No real friends. So I just grew closer to him after he decided not to transfer. After that… he just sort of… wore down my defenses… plus," Shirley took a sharp breath and her face scrunched up in anger. "Plus I know that that man would never ever be able to walk out on me! No sir! He knows that I can kick his ass and… and… and you know what honey? I better get going! Merry Christmas!"

Annie nodded and Shirley rushed down the hall where Annie could see out the doors. Gary waited, leaning against a grey sedan, blanketed in snow with exception of swathes carved out on the windshield by the wipers. Shirley got in and Gary slowly walked around the entire car before getting in and driving off at a leisurely 2 miles an hour.

Annie rubbed her eyes and without really thinking about it started walking. All the while she still tried to take it all in and work it out in her head, Annie found herself wander into the student lounge. She absentmindedly slipped into one of the many chairs and rested her hands in her lap as she went over the entire encounter with Shirley.

Chang made sense. It was her fault that he got caught. If she never came to Greendale then, yes, he would still be a Spanish teacher. But Shirley? She was friends with Annie. They loved each other. But Annie would never say she was someone that Shirley confided in. If there was anyone in the group that fit the bill it was either Britta or Jeff. Why would Shirley make such a different choice if Annie had never been there? It made no sense.

For the most part everything seemed the same. Annie took a quick look around to confirm it. Actually, the school even looked a little better. Cleaner, with newer furniture, and equipment. The old foosball table had even been replaced by a state-of-the-art air hockey table. How did that all work out?

But more than that, she saw most the same people she saw every day. Quendra cuddled with Pavel, Leonard stalked around the lounge, holding mistletoe over women's chests, and Starburns was trying to sell some freshmen some "Christmas Cannabis". Everything perfectly normal. So why did things change so much for Shirley?

Unfortunately Annie wasn't able to give it much more thought. The doors to the lounge suddenly flew open and Abed walked in, accompanied by an entire posse of students dressed in football jerseys. Abed walked right past Annie and stood on one of the tables. He cleared his throat and then cupped his hands to his mouth.

"Make way everybody! Make way for City College's resident king of cool! The undisputed Duke of Dudeness! The Earl of Excellence… Troy 'T-bone' Barnes!"

In spite of the ridiculous introduction, the students gathered in the lounge stood and clapped, someone in the posse hit a stereo and an awful rap song about Troy being everybody's "Boy" blared into the room. Troy himself entered a few moments later, wearing a City College letterman jacket and half dancing as he walked into the room.

"Ah come on you guys!" Troy waved them off. "You didn't have to do that!"

Some girl approached him and his mouth quirked up to one side.

"Abed," he snapped his fingers and his friend rushed to his other side.

"Yes Troy?"

"I want this girl's name, number and blood type. I want to see her at my place, Friday night, no later than nine. And I want her dressed like Slave Leia."

"Can't do that, you already have a date scheduled for that time."

Troy's eyes narrowed at Abed and he turned back to the girl. "You don't mind sharing me do you…"

"Raquel."

"I'm sure it is," Troy nodded. "You don't mind sharing do you? There's plenty of T-bone steak to go around!"

Annie planted a hand on her head and rolled her eyes. He was still using that line? It was so… first year. If Annie really hadn't lost her mind and this really was happening, then at least she knew that her having gone to Greendale at least had cured him of _that_.

Abed busied himself with taking the girls information down while Troy nodded to his 'stereo guy'. He hit the play button again and Troy jammed his way over to the vending machine, completely ignoring Annie. She watched him for a moment before turning her attention back to Abed.

The Study Group's resident film guru had finished with Troy's latest date and now walked toward her. No, not her. The chair next to her. He sat down and adjusted himself in the seat and then remained completely rigid, his back had nearly a foot between it and the backrest of the chair. He smiled for a moment then his eyes went blank and he stared straight forward in full 'robot mode'.

Annie glanced back at Troy. He hadn't seemed to notice. He was too busy declaring himself "King of Airhockeyia" or something. She scooted herself closer to her roommate and friend.

"Abed," she said quietly. "Abed can you hear me? Abed it's me… Annie!"

He slowly turned to her and his head cocked to the side and his eyes actually moved, actually darted over her body like he was assessing her, or scanning her. Annie found herself leaning forward a bit more, hoping that maybe, just maybe he recognized her.

"Annie Hall," Abed nodded. "1977 film directed by Woody Allen in which Woody Allen plays himself as he does every movie with exception of the weird pedo-vibes he gives off in real life. The titular character Annie Hall is played by Diane Keaton and is strangely the most watchable character in the film."

"Abed what are you doing?"

"Annie…" Abed nodded and a small smile curled up his lips. "1982 film based off the Broadway musical based off the comic strip 'Little Orphan Annie', directed by John Huston, nominated for two Oscars and featuring beloved musical numbers such as 'Tomorrow'. _Just thinking about, Tomorrow! Clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow…_"

Abed's voice grew a little bit with each line of the song he started singing and a few people were starting to pay attention to him. Annie checked to see if Troy was among them but he was trying to bite an air hockey disk. Still, it was better to play it safe at this point.

"Abed, shhh," Annie held a finger to her lips. "Abed it's okay, you don't have to sing please… please stop."

A couple more lines of the song eeked out but finally Abed stopped his face went blank again and his posture straightened up. Annie felt her brows curl up in worry. Something was horribly wrong. This wasn't Abed. Something had happened. She never imagined she had that much effect on him… she didn't did she? This couldn't be because she wasn't there.

"But it is," Garrett said, as if reading her thoughts. "This is how Abed would be if you were never here."

Garrett took a seat on the couch facing Annie and she fought the urge to pounce on him and demand that he play straight with her. Sure she'd ruined the year for her study group but nothing insane happened until this… angel Garrett smashed into her.

"Okay," she took a measured breath. "I need some explanations. This is supposed to be a world where I never came to Greendale. But things still don't make sense. This is City College now? Shirley married Gary, Abed is a robot and Troy is…" Troy was now playing pool on the air hockey table. "…is obnoxious, loud, and annoying, more so than usual. I can't have had this big an effect."

"Of course you did," Angel Garrett said. "Without you, Greendale never won the debate championship. Greendale never beat City College in the simulated space race, and parts of your study group were taken out of paintball much too early last year, all of this lead to Dean Pelton getting fired and Dean Spreck finally taking over Greendale."

Annie couldn't help but nod at that but almost as quickly she shook her head. "But Shirley said that she married Gary because she needed a friend. Me and Shirley like each other a lot but I'm not her go to gal."

"No, Britta is," Garrett said. "And how did they become 'go to gals for each other'?"

"Um… because… they… bonded?"

"Wrong! I mean… Right! Kind of!" Garrett shook his head. "They bonded over you. When Troy didn't notice you, who comforted you?"

"… Britta?"

"And Britta got help from Shirley. But without you there Britta never got to try it out and the two of them didn't quite connect enough to make their friendship last all the stuff that kept happening and their differences. Shirley started looking elsewhere for companionship."

"Okay," Annie squeezed her eyes shut. "What about these guys?"

"Well…" Garrett looked around. "You see… it really would be better if you just…"

"Garrett!" Annie sat up a little then narrowed her eyes. "Wait… what do I call you. If you're really a guardian angel, what's your name?"

"It's… um… It's actually Garrett," Angel Garrett looked away.

"Your name _is_ Garrett and you happen to look just like him?"

"It's not my fault okay! That's my name and they just chose me to look like your Garrett! Would you like it better if it was Clarence? That way this could be exactly like 'It's a Wonderful Life'?"

"'It's a Wonderful Life'," Abed perked up again. "1946 film directed by Frank Capra, starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed., considered a culturally iconic movie, it opened with mixed reviews. Still, it remains a Christmas Classic to this day with it's themes of family and the importance of an individual…"

Annie shook her head then reached out and grabbed Abed's hand. Part of her ached to see him like this. She had to know what had happened!

"Abed, you don't need to quote movie stats to me. It's me, Annie, your friend? We made out at paintball last year. Don't you remember?"

"He doesn't because you never did."

"Shut up Garrett!" Annie squeezed Abed's hand. "Please… Abed, say something."

Abed's eyes went down to Annie's hand, holding his, then trailed up until they locked with hers. For a moment, just for a moment she thought she saw the typical wonderment that Abed seemed to carry around with him each day. His fingers tightened around her hand.

"Strange, isn't it?" he said. "Each man's life touches so many other lives. And when he isn't around he leaves an awful hole doesn't he?"

Annie smiled at him but as soon as he finished the quote his fingers slackened and his eyes darkened. He pulled himself straight again and stared straight forward. Annie lifted herself from her seat and grabbed his shoulder. She almost had him, she was almost through to him!

"Abed! Abed listen to me! Abed tell me-"

"What are you doing?" Troy's voice came from behind her. She stiffened and glanced over her shoulder.

Troy stood behind her, leaning on one leg with his arms crossed. All the obnoxious playfulness that dominated his face earlier was gone. Replaced by confusion and maybe even a little annoyance.

"I…" Annie muttered and stood up straight. "I just wanted to know what was wrong with him."

"Nothing is wrong with Abed," Troy said and sat on the couch next to Garrett. He stared at the Angel in Nerd form and wrinkled his nose. "Didn't I tell you never to be in here when I was?"

"I…" Garrett scooted forward on the couch a little. "I…"

"Scram!"

Garrett bolted from his seat and tore down the hall. Annie had to stop herself from going after him. He was the key to all this craziness. She couldn't afford to lose him. But she still had to find out what happened to Abed. Also Troy. Troy needed a good tongue-lashing. One she intended to give him.

"Troy Barnes!" She wheeled around at him. "What the hell is wrong with you!? You're acting exactly like you did when you were in the 12th grade-"

"You don't know me!"

"Shut up! Garrett wasn't hurting you and you don't own this campus! Not everything is about you you know! And how dare you treat Abed like this! He needs a friend and you're treating him like your own personal assistant!"

"Now that's not fair!" Troy stepped up in front of her. "You don't know any of us! You don't know what happened to Abed. I _am_ his friend. His _only_ friend."

Annie stepped back and glanced at Abed then back to Troy. "But… you were giving him orders… and had him announcing you like he was a page."

"That's because that's all he can do," Troy said. "Unless I'm interacting with Abed, the only thing he does is sit and spout movie references. If I didn't give him something to do he would just be with his dad, mindlessly making felafel."

"But… but what happened to him?"

"Abed's always been a bit weird. We met in a study group and we were starting to become really good friends. Maybe even best friends. I don't know. But then my collegiate football career started taking off and we kind of drifted a little. Then last year, he had a psychotic breakdown or something just before Christmas. Professor Duncan tried doing some messed up therapy and it made it even worse. My study group and I tried to snap him out of it but… I don't know. It wasn't enough I guess. He's been like this ever since."

Annie felt her heard sink a little. She wasn't there for him. She never considered her part in his uncontrollable Christmas episode that important but… maybe she was wrong. Maybe her being there really did make a difference. Her lips pursed tightly and that ache she felt earlier returned. Even by not being at Greendale she let him down. Either way she ruined things.

"You alright?" Troy said.

"I…" Annie hesitated. "I'm just sorry."

"It's okay," Troy shrugged then looked over his shoulder. His football buddies were starting to come closer. "You didn't know. And besides… I'm kind of glad that you did talk to him. It's not every day that Abed gets the attention of a hot POA like you. Tell me girl, what's your name?"

"Um…" Annie locked eyes with him. Suddenly she couldn't decide if this was an act or if it was for real. "I'm Annie."

"Annie," Abed repeated, in the exact same voice that he used when he gushed the Annie movie facts. Troy cut him off before he could get going.

"Abed," I want you to take her name and number and I want her at my place Saturday no later than eleven… have her dressed like…" Troy glanced over his shoulder. "… like herself."

"Sure thing Troy!" Abed grinned and stood up, approaching Annie with a pen and a planner.

Troy signaled his buddies and they all formed up. Stereo man did his thing and Troy started moonwalking out of the lounge. Annie found herself giving Abed the information he wanted in spite of herself. Troy nodded her direction and winked.

"I'll see you later girl," he said. "Come on Abed."

"You can't stop me from coming!" Abed laughed and raced after Troy's posse. All of them cleared out of the room with him taking up the rear. He grabbed the door handled and started pulling it shut behind them all. And Annie swore that just for a second, he looked at her like he recognized her.

Annie sank into the seat again and fought to keep her emotions down. Just as she fought to make sense of it all and to make a plan, to figure out what she would do from here. At this point, she really had to make up her mind. Did she really believe this was some sort of alternate reality or was this the meanest prank ever played on her?

Thought's of how Abed, Troy, and even Shirley acted still bit at her mind. Demanding that she really think about how their lives were different without her. Even though she knew that if she did get back to her reality, things would be exactly the same. She would still be leaving Greendale and all of them would still hate her.

Both realities were horrible for her. So the question was, which reality was worse for her friends? Sure they seemed to have weird lives here and Abed needed help, but at least they were still in school.

Annie pulled herself from her thoughts and stood. Sitting around wasn't going to solve a thing. She needed to find Garrett… or Angel Garrett or whoever. She needed to know for sure that everything was as it seemed. And she didn't want to sit around waiting to see how much creepier Pierce was if this was all real. With that thought she straightened her skirt a little then rushed out the door where Garrett had fled.


	2. Chapter 2

The photos lined the hallway. More than fifty student's faces stared back at her from behind glass frames. Each face was lit up with a smile, or a shrug of the shoulder. Some were portraits, others were candid photographs taken at student carnivals, or college food fights. Most of the students Annie didn't even recognize. She did notice Paige and every single member of Leonard's Hipsters, as well as Rich, Buddy, and that red headed student who's name she never managed to get.

Above the rows of photos, a series of blocked letters read: "In Memory of those now gone."

Annie shook her head at the sight. What had happened? Each picture bore a name and a year of birth as well as a year of death. Each student had died last year. Every last one of them! How was that even possible? At least the Glee Club members she could account for. But the rest?

The clapping of shoes on the tile floor pulled her attention from the wall. A lone figure walked down the hallway holding something, but Annie couldn't make out what or who. After everything she'd seen, Annie had to fight the instinct to run and hide. It seemed each encounter with another person was just worse and worse.

But she was in the middle of an empty hallway. Running would only make her seem even more conspicuous. So she opted to stay put and get answers.

As luck would have it, the person approaching was someone Annie knew not to fear. Someone that, even though they weren't friends, wasn't someone Annie could have greatly affected as they almost never spoke. And as far as Annie knew, this person wouldn't hurt anyone… unless you mocked her publicly in front of the school during a student government debate.

"Excuse me," Annie said as soon as Vicki neared.

Vicki glanced up from under the brim of her hat like she'd just noticed Annie was there. She held some thin books tightly against her yellow sweater, almost as if she was afraid they'd slip from her arms and fly away. Annie took a moment to figure out where that image had come from and made a note that if she ever got back to her reality, she'd stop watching so much Reading Rainbow with Troy.

"I'm… I'm new here," Annie said, deciding that she'd make more headway with a simple fib. "I was just wondering… what's up with this wall?"

Vicki's lips pursed together and she squeezed the books a little tighter against herself. For a moment she stared at Annie, as if trying to figure out if she was being honest or not. Then she sighed and motioned for Annie to walk with her.

"2010 was… a horrible year for Greendale… or City College Southwest Division I guess. The second highest death toll of any college in the entire nation, right behind Weber State. Most of the students died during some sort of weird animal attack on Halloween. I wasn't there… but nobody really remembers what happened."

"Halloween," Annie felt her stomach sink. She was there that night, but she didn't know anything about an animal attack. Everybody at the party she was at was mass roofied. Nobody had died. How had she affected that?

"So…" Annie glanced over to Vicki. "Did you… you lose someone that night?"

"This isn't just for that night," Vicki said. "It's for the entire school year."

Abruptly she stopped and went to a picture. She took it off the wall and held it out to Annie. As soon as she saw the face though, Annie couldn't bring herself to touch it. Her heart pounded and her breath caught in her throat.

"This is Neil, I really cared for him and…" Vicki said, her voice growing thick with emotion. "… he… he didn't have anybody and they made fun of him his entire life. Eventually it just became… he couldn't handl… he…"

"I understand," Annie whispered.

Vicki nodded. "I look back at the time just before it happened. I was so stupid for not having recognized it. All the signs were there. If I had just said something to him, let him know how I felt…"

"Somebody should have been there..."

"He must have felt so alone," Vicki said. "So I come here every now and again to read to him. I don't know. Maybe somewhere he can hear me."

Annie nodded and backed away. She took slow and deliberate steps. Each one carefully measured to give off the idea that she was giving Vicki a respectable distance when in reality she was trying to get as far away from this wall as she possibly could. This, this couldn't all be her fault. These students didn't die because she wasn't there. She didn't need to look at their accusatory faces.

"I'm… I'm sorry for your loss," Annie breathed out just before she put her back to Vicki and Neil. For each footstep she took she tried to add half a footstep more. She could almost feel the stares on her back and she wanted to shut her ears to the sound of Vicki talking to Neil's picture.

"Hi Neil," her voice echoed down the hall. "I brought the 2nd Edition Monster Manual again. I hope you like it. Let's start out with the Absorbaloph… it can only be defeated by a +2 warhammer with anti-cold spell ensorcelled about it…"

By the time she was down the hall, Annie held her hands over her mouth and tears forced themselves from her eyes. She rounded the corner and prepared to run, back to the study room or to the cafeteria where she figured she could find Troy and Abed. Even in the weird state they were in, they were better than no company.

All she knew was that she didn't want to even slightly ponder everything that had just happened. Things weren't supposed to have changed that much without her. Her college, the one that in the back of her mind, always felt like home. Now it was cold and frightening. And she needed a friendly face.

She wiped at the tears in her eyes and planted one foot in front of the other, just beginning her sprint. Unfortunately she didn't get the chance. Instead of breaking into a marathon run, she bumped smack dab into a pair of hardened pecks and washboard abs. Annie stepped back to apologize but froze in place.

"Are you okay Mountain Flower?"

"Vaughn!" Annie jumped at him, wrapping her arms around his exposed torso. "Oh Vaughn! You're still here!"

"Hey, it's alright, everything's okay, no worries," Vaughn cautiously put his arms around her. Annie laughed in spite of herself at hearing him say three different comforting things in one sentence. She squeezed Vaughn a little tighter just happy that no matter what, in this reality Vaughn was Vaughn.

"So what seems to be the problem Moonbeam?" he pulled away and ran his thumbs over her cheeks, clearing the tears. "You gotta stop those tears. Whenever a pretty gal like you cries it puts bad vibes in the air."

Again, Annie let out a chuckle and nodded. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to startle you or anything. I'm just having a really bad day."

"Well bad days are like… eating a mouthful of hay, on a rainy bay, and not everything's okay," he stared off for a minute before snapping back. "I should be writing this down."

"Yeah," Annie nodded.

"Well tell you what," Vaughn walked over to a nearby locker where his shirt and his guitar lay. "I've got a jam session with my band that's sort of going on. Why don't you come with and sit in? I can guarantee that listening to 'Some Worries' will make you have no worries in no time flat."

"I'd like that."

Vaughn flashed her that grin she always loved then held out his hand. "I'm Vaughn Miller, you probably already knew that though."

"You have a band," Annie shrugged and took his hand. "I'm Annie."

"Annie," Vaughn nodded then kissed the back of her hand before pulling his shirt over his head. "Well come along little Sunshine Blossom! You'll love our jam sessions."

Together they fell in step down the hallway. For Annie it was both wonderful and a little disconcerting. Vaughn hadn't been part of her life in over two years. He moved on from Greendale and she moved on from him. But here? In this messed up reality he was an oasis of… well not normalcy, but at least of comfort. Of course the closer they got to the music room the more his presence raised questions in her mind.

Finally, just in front of the door to the room, Annie stopped, only then realizing he held her hand in his.

"Vaughn," she disentangled her fingers from his. "I have to ask you… are you good at hacky sack?"

"Oh are you kidding me?" Vaughn's face lit up. "I'm the hacky sack King of City College Southwest Division! I've even started a small hacky sack league!"

"You ever… think about doing it professionally?"

"Oh I don't know," Vaughn's voice dropped just a bit. "I mean… I guess I thought about it. I really thought about it a couple of years ago, but never really seriously. I mean my band was just starting to pick up and I just… I just didn't feel that drive to really go for it. Like I was missing something to really push me into the Zen of Hacky sack."

"Oh," Annie nodded as another piece of the puzzle snapped in her mind. "Well, maybe you should give it another try. Who knows, you could be the next Ying Yang Mac a Ding Ding Jr."

"Yeah," Vaughn lifted his eyes like the idea was taking off in his brain. "Maybe you're right! I might give that a try. Thanks Mountain Flower! Come on, come on into my jam session. Who knows what good ideas you'll come up with next?"

Annie grinned while internally beating down any traces of guilt she might have felt for the implications of her effect on Vaughn's Hacky Sack career. He gripped her shoulder and threw open the door. They walked in together to meet his bandmates. And as soon as Annie saw them her knees locked together.

Well actually only one of them surprised her.

"Sup guys? How you doing? What's going on?" Vaughn said to his bandmates "I was just down looking for the inspiration bug to bite me when I had an awesome idea for this new song…"

"Who's the skirt?" Pierce said from behind his keyboard.

"Oh," Vaughn nodded. "Right, guys, this is Annie. She's awesome. She's like if proteins and vitamins had a baby and called them protamins or viatameins! Annie, these are my bandmates, Evergreen Saw Dance, Chubbs McCooley, and Old Man River."

"That's Pierce Hawthorne!" Pierce narrowed his eyes at Vaughn then turned to Annie. "You'll have to excuse Vaughn sometimes he talks with the brain in his butt."

"Pierce?" Vaughn said. "I thought we said you could come back to the band only if you stopped spitting the bad karma all over. There's no need for that."

"And you don't need to be introducing me to hot tail like her as an 'old man'!"

"Dude, it's a title of honor."

"Is it? Or are you just trying to sabotage me because you know that the band only got good once you let me back in!?"

"You know what Pierce!?" Vaughn started unstrapping his guitar. "You're the one with a butt brain! We're settling this once and for all!"

"I wouldn't have it any other way!" Pierce flipped a couple of switches on his keyboard. "Jam off right now! Winner becomes new leader of the band."

"Oh you'll wish they'd named you Peace after this!" Vaughn shouted. "And when you lose you can go crawling back to that study group you got kicked out of!"

"I'll see you in Hell first! Nobody cared about me there and nobody cares about you here!"

The other band members scooted as far back as they could, leaving Pierce and Vaughn facing each other wielding their instruments like some sort of medieval dueling weapons. They stared for a full minute before, as if some unspoken signal had been given, they mashed their fingers against strings and keys, and the room flooded with what amounted to musical white noise punctuated by explicatives thrown at each other like monkey's trying to prove a point with their feces.

Annie backed away. It was bad enough seeing Pierce trying to be in a group that didn't tolerate him. Worse was seeing an angry, almost violent side of Vaughn she'd never seen. Was he always like this or was it because she wasn't there for him?

Pierce cranked the volume on his keyboard and Vaughn started screaming his lyrics in an attempt to be louder than the speakers. Annie twisted the door knob and slipped out completely unnoticed.

Once the door was shut, Annie closed her eyes and leaned her back against it. Her head rested on the flat surface and she let herself sink down to the floor. Pierce and Vaughn's noise vibrated through the wood and Annie just shook her head. She'd go back in after a minute. She couldn't just leave them there fighting it out like really musically talented animals.

Before she could get up, a scream came from around the corner and a security guard pulled at a thin arm. The body it was attached to didn't come so he yanked a little harder until both he and his prisoner almost toppled to the floor.

Annie stood up straight when she recognized the mass of blonde curls beneath the layers and layers of black leather. The security guard tugged at Britta again and she resisted just enough for him to drag her feet, squeaking across the floor. The entire way Britta screamed, squealed, and cursed. Then she and the security guard swept past Annie and the two of them locked eyes.

"Fight the power! Dean Laybourne is suppressing your student rights! Rage against the antidisestablishmentarianist bacon of tyranny in the name of the scrambled eggs of freedom!"

"But bacon and eggs go together," Annie found herself muttering, apparently a little too loud because Britta heard it.

"That's exactly what I would expect a sheeple to say! Read the third amendment!"

"Soldier's can't be quartered in private residences?" Annie started, following them without even knowing it. "You're not making any sense."

"Britta here never does," security guard Nuñez said. "This gal isn't happy unless I'm dragging her to the detention area at least once a week. There's nothing to see here."

"That's right there's nothing to see!" Britta flailed, almost getting loose. "Nothing to see but the Cat of Tyranny knocking over the Christmas… Holiday… yeah! Holiday Tree of Justice!"

"Britta, you're not making any sense! Calm down or you're going to be in trouble!"

"I was born in trouble. Trouble, Michigan! Population: Britta!"

"Will you listen to yourself!? You're contradicting for the sake of contradicting! Britta, you have to get a hold of yourself! You have to think!"

"NEVER!"

They continued down the hall, but try as she might, all Annie could get out of Britta was more needlessly defiant ramblings that not even the most hopped up hippy could have understood. When they finally got to the small detention area Annie found herself sitting on one of the nearby 'waiting chairs' while Britta banged on the glass.

After about fifteen minutes of that, Annie noticed Nuñez starting to nod off as well as the receptionist. How could they sleep with that kind of racket? After about another ten, Annie found herself nodding her head. At first she fought it but then it occurred to her that maybe, just maybe, if she went to sleep she'd wake up where she belonged; back at Greendale, where her friends weren't insane and the school wasn't a mad house… all of that being a very relative definition.

She just rolled her head to the side and rested it on the wall and closed her eyes. Hoping that when she opened them again, she'd be dropping out of school again but at least know that everything else was in a state resembling 'okay'.

Peace, however, didn't accompany her sleep. Her dreams were filled with the memories of what brought her here in the first place. The dean trusting her with the Salvation Army money. Her convincing each member of the study group to let her do the work for the end of semester project, The Christmas Terrariums. The kindly stranger that promised to watch them while she chased down Abed's lost present. Then all of the accusatory faces when it all went to Hell. Jeff yelling at her and turning his back on her…

Not the stuff sweet dreams were made of.

When she finally opened her eyes, Nuñez was snoring softly and the secretary had her head buried between the open pages of a book. Britta, while no longer shouting, still mumbled curses against the 'man' while resting her head against the window. Also, sitting in the chair next to her, Garrett browsed through the latest copy of Redbook.

"Garrett!" Annie whispered as loud as she could.

Garrett jumped and his arms jerked, nearly tearing the magazine in half. The others in the room rustled but didn't wake. Garrett clutched at his chest and set the remains of the magazine back down on the small end table. And Annie waited for him to calm down enough before speaking again.

"Which one are you?" she leaned forward. "The real one or the… or the angel?"

"Just because I'm an angel doesn't mean I'm not real!" Garrett said, the sleepers stirred again and Annie put a finger to her lips.

"Of course that means you're not real," Britta's voice echoed from behind the glass. "Angel's are as fake as the CGI in the Muppets movie."

Annie rolled her eyes and turned back to Garrett. "Seriously, what's wrong with her? Britta has always been too counter… everything movement, for her own good but now she's belligerently defiant about everything that doesn't matter."

"You weren't-"

"No! Not this time Calvin Cline!" Annie jabbed her finger at him and he shook nervously. "There has to be more. Britta and I were even less close than Shirley and me. I mean we had our moments but they were few and far between. I couldn't have affected her that much!"

"Do you still not understand?" Garrett said, wide eyed and slacked jawed. "It's not just your direct actions but… it's… don't you see? Without you her relationships with ever member of the study group changes! She's acting this way because this is all she has now! And if you… oh no…"

"Oh no?" Annie raised a brow then followed Garrett's gaze to the office door. Jeff was closing it behind him. Annie sat up a little straighter without realizing it. Her eyes roamed over him in fascination. He looked exactly the same. Well, they all did, but with Jeff she paid extra attention.

He approached the front desk while adjusting the tie on his no doubt thousand dollar suit. Then he took a look at the sleeping office secretary and brushed at the perfectly sculpted bedhead-shaped spikes that made up his hair. Underneath his jacket his shirt pressed tight against his toned chest as always. By every noticeable detail this Jeff was exactly like her Jeff.

Except for the worry lines on his forehead and maybe a couple of extra bags under his eyes.

The receptionist started to rouse herself and Jeff turned his head Annie's direction. She did her best not to smile, he'd only been in the room less than a minute and already she found herself trying to get his attention. And somewhere in the back of her mind the thought popped up that this Jeff didn't hate her like her Jeff did.

If he noticed her, he didn't show any sign and he quickly turned back to the receptionist and started bartering for Britta's release. Annie frowned then leaned over to Garrett.

"What happened to Jeff in this timeline?"

"He… oh… well… you're not going to like it."

"Garrett, I might as well have been invisible to him. Even if he doesn't know me that's not like Jeff. What happened to him?"

"Well you see…"

Before Garrett could finish, the receptionist woke up Nunez and the rotund security guard let Britta out of the holding room. Without a word she stomped past Jeff with her head turned up. Jeff let out something that sounded like a cross between a grunt and a sigh and followed after her.

Annie pulled herself up and went to the door, Jeff was catching up to Britta. She glanced back at Garrett who remained seated and started thumbing through a stack of magazines.

"Aren't you coming?" Annie glanced back at Jeff and Britta and then back at him.

"That's not a good idea!" Garrett said. "I don't want to be there when you find out what happened to him!"

"Can you at least make me like… invisible or something? Like in a Christmas Carol?"

"You don't need to be invisible! He's not going to notice you, he has too many things on his mind right now."

Annie stared at the angel for a second, trying to figure out his game, before turning her gaze back to the hallway where Jeff and Britta were nearly about to turn a corner. She sighed and rushed after them.

It didn't take long to catch up. They plodded along with slow steps, it made it easier to argue. And that's the first thing Annie heard once she reached earshot. The same thing Jeff and Britta always did, bicker and fight. Except for there was nothing even slightly amusing about it this time.

"…I'd accuse you of doing all of this to try and get my attention but we both know this is pathological! Seriously Britta, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Oh you'd like me to be vying for your attention wouldn't you! You'd love it if after everything that's happened I was still a widdle, helpless, girl pining away from the unattainable Jeff Winger."

"I'd like for you to take my name off your emergency call list if you're going to keep doing this," one of Jeff's hands had squeezed into a fist. "You know they're telling me that if you keep disturbing the peace like this they're going to call the real cops? You'll get kicked out of school."

"Good! That will really show them!"

"No it won't!" Jeff stopped and grabbed her shoulder. "Britta! Why can't you get this through your head? The only person all of these antics are hurting is you! You're a laughing stock and when they throw you out on your ass there's nothing I'm going to be able to do about it! Even if I still had pull with the faculty!"

Annie slid into a small alcove of lockers where she could get a better look without worrying about being seen. She tried to keep as much of her body behind the wall as she could but almost stepped out into full view when she noticed all of the anger and fight on Britta's face disappear and turn into a look of concern and worry.

"So... it's finally happening?"

"Oh don't act like you're not thrilled," Jeff bent his back just a little, so he could get closer to her face. "Go ahead. I'm waiting. Gloat. That's what you've been wanting to do for how long now? 'I told you it wouldn't last'. Isn't that what you wanted to say? Or how about 'I told you so!' If our roles were reversed you know I'd do the same thing."

"Jeff… I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"Of course you didn't know!" he jabbed a finger at her. "Because all that matters to you is you and whatever damned issue you've decided to shove down the rest of our throats. God forbid you care about an actual person before you care about some goddamned chipmunk in the rainforest!"

"That's real rich," anger began seething from Britta's words. "Coming from the most selfish, controlling man I know! If you really want a reason why everything's gone south, why don't you use any one of the hundreds of mirrors you keep on your person at all times!"

"Ha!" Jeff threw his arms out triumphantly. "I knew you couldn't resist! I just throw a little bit of cold reality on your righteous indignation and wham! You just default to the same old tired arguments. You don't even stop to think at all about how the past three years have affected me! That's why things never would have worked with us!"

Britta stepped away until her back flattened against the lockers behind her. Her mouth hung open for a moment before she shook her head and stared at Jeff with wide eyes. "You… you wanted me to lash out at you! You were deliberately trying to provoke that response. Jeff… oh my god Jeff, how sick are you? Your relationship didn't work and now you're out to prove that no relationships work?"

"And I'm right! Because the truth of the matter is that relationships are a lie. Either people are only pretending to be happy, like most couples that somehow wind up staying together. Or they use the entire thing like a game, like you did, or they use it as a way to control and dominate others. That's how relationships work!"

"You loved her didn't you?"

"Still want to know who I love huh?" Jeff sneered. "You had your chance two years ago. But then again, it was just a game to you."

Britta shook her head and slipped away from him. "I'm really sorry that it didn't work out Jeff. I know that it wasn't because you didn't try. It doesn't matter what she says. I'll… I'll take what you said about trouble making under… I mean I'll think about it..."

Jeff did nothing to stop her. He just stood, stooped shouldered and glaring while she almost tiptoed away. All the while she kept glancing back at Jeff, maybe looking for some hint of emotion besides spite and blind anger. She even passed right by Annie and didn't notice her.

As soon as she was gone Annie let out a breath she didn't even realize she was holding. Jeff and Britta had always been argumentative but there was rarely that level of raw bitterness and resent. That was usually reserved for all night emergency study room sessions and ended with everyone screaming at each other, crying, and eventually hugging.

Somehow Annie didn't see any of that happening here.

For a few moments, the hallway remained silent. Annie did her level best to breathe as quietly as possible, all the while she angled head in an attempt to glean any sound coming from Jeff's direction. The scuffle of a shoe, an exasperated sigh, anything that might let her know what he was doing.

When she finally decided she wouldn't hear anything Annie pressed herself against the lockers and edged herself toward the corner to peak around. Unfortunately Jeff chose that moment to finally make a noise as he cursed and punched a nearby bulletin board.

Annie jumped back and made a small 'eep' at the slamming noise. More than enough for Jeff to hear her. In less than a moment he stood in front of her, eyeing her up and down with his brows furrowed and mouth pressed into a thin line.

"You were at the detention area when I got Britta out," he finally said. "Have you been following us?"

"I…" Annie dredged her mind for any sort of coherent response. "I…you knooowww….."

"Okay," Jeff rolled his eyes. "Maybe because it's Christmas and I don't really feel like having another headache, but I don't care. If you followed me and Britta and heard an earful, I hope it was enough for you to get a juicy diary entry. You can entitle it, 'Jeff Winger's long time girlfriend, Michelle Slater, dumps him on his ass.' And be sure to paste glitter hearts all around it. See you around Nancy Drew I'm going to go get drunk. Merry Christmas."

The moment the words left his mouth Jeff turned around and trudged away. Annie stepped out fully into the hallway. Her mind buzzed with that little piece of the puzzle that he gave her. Slater! He had been with Slater!? How did that happen? She had to have more answers.

"Jeff!" she held her hand up as she called his name. He didn't even glance back. Annie's chest heaved as she drew in each increasingly panicked breath. She couldn't leave Jeff like this. Learning why he chose Slater was one thing, but him drinking away his sorrows on Christmas off all times! With literally no one to help him… she couldn't do it! She had to act fast to keep him there!

"Jeff!" she called again the pressed the back of her hand to her forehead and dropped to the ground in a dramatic and surely convincing faint. Jeff would come running. If this crapsack reality proved anything to her, was that even with all the changes, even with all the horrible things that happened. Everybody was the same. Troy was still a dork with a heart of gold, Britta was still obsessed with random causes, and that meant that Jeff would always be there to catch her.

Annie lay there with her eyes pressed shut, listening for the sound of footsteps but mostly only hearing the pounding of her heart in her chest. Any second now she'd hear him curse and turn around. He'd start walking toward her, maybe taking each step a little faster than the last. He'd probably call her 'kid' and nudge her a little. That's how things just went.

And after a few moments of waiting, Annie did her best not to be upset when she heard the exit door slide shut. A few moments later the sound of feet on the tile hit her ears. But it came from behind. She opened her eyes and stared forward. Through the glass panes on the door, Jeff had turned up his collar to protect himself from the cold. Snowflakes caught on the field of black that his coat presented them and he hunched over a little as he walked, hands stuffed in his pockets.

"So that's all of them," Annie remained exactly the way she was, on her side, staring at the door. "Now I've seen what the study group looks like without me."

"Not just the Study Group, but the school!" Garrett said. Somehow she'd known it was his footsteps coming up behind her. "I'm sorry you had to see it."

Annie sat up and scooted herself over until she could rest her back against the wall. Garrett plopped down next to her. For a moment they both remained there, listening to the wind thump against the glass and the sound of Garrett churning air in and out of his mouth. Annie finally shook her head and looked at him.

"They're all so... alone. Even Shirley and she's married."

"What did you expect?" Garrett shrugged.

"I don't know… I didn't really expect anything to be that different. I'm not anybody special. They shouldn't be like this. They still have the Study Group, they still have each other."

"But they don't have you," Garrett said. "And without you and what you bring to the Study Group, things just can't be the same. And each of them went looking for what you brought elsewhere, never really finding it."

"And what do I bring?" Annie let her gaze shift to the outside scenery again. "A good grade? Actual studying?"

"Deep down you know," Garrett said. "But I'm not the one who should tell you that."

"It doesn't matter," Annie shook her head. "I screwed up too much! None of them want me back and I'm leaving the school now, they'll all be better off."

"You think so?" Garrett said. "Annie, without you, this or something like this will happen to your study group too. No one person is too insignificant to not change the lives of everyone she surrounds herself with once she leaves. Troy and Abed won't have their third amigo, Britta and Shirley won't have the glue to keep their friendship together, Pierce won't have someone looking out for him and Jeff…"

"Jeff won't have someone that he knows loves the man he actually is and not the man he pretends to be," Annie breathed.

"Sooner or later they'll be…"

Jeff's Lexus started driving by and Annie pushed herself to her feet.

"Alone, like Jeff is," she breathed.

"Exactly! And that's why you should… where are you going!?"

"I can't leave him like this on Christmas!" Annie was already into a full sprint. "I don't care if he hates, me or thinks I'm weird. He has to know that someone cares about him!"

"And the rest of the Study Group!?"

"Them too!"

"Watch out for the doo-"

Annie barely heard him. Which was why when the door swung open in front of her, she didn't have time to pivot, spin, or stop. Instead she crashed headlong into it and sprawled backward, landing hard on her back and smacking her head on the hard tile. She blinked a couple of times and tried to right her spinning point of view. Off in the distance, Garrett screamed about her falling and it being a crisis.

Her eyes closed, as if mocking her fight keep them open. And soon enough she felt fingers under her neck and an arm just beneath her knees. The heavy breathing she heard told her Garrett was carrying her to the medical center. She tried again to open her eyes but they wouldn't budge and she slipped further into unconsciousness.

The first thing she was aware of, when wakefulness came back to her was the ringing in her ears. An annoying tinkling like tiny bells. The next thing she felt was warm smooth fingers holding her hand. Fingers much softer than hers but much stronger. She opened her eyes staring straight up, and through blurred vision, saw six faces gazing down.

She blinked away the blurriness just in time to see and hear Shirley squeal with excitement and jump up and down a little. Troy and Abed did their buddy shake while Troy sniffed back tears. Pierce started signaling to Nurse Jackie and Britta smiled at her before going over to argue with him about homeopathic alternatives to pain medication.

Annie focused her eyes on Jeff, who smiled in spite of eyes filled with concern. She glanced down at her own hand but couldn't see if it was his holding hers. The fingers squeezed a little tighter around her hand and she looked back up to see Jeff's smile broaden a bit. Then she felt her own lips curve up.

"I'm sorry for weirding all you guys out, I know you all have your own lives and… I just wasn't ready to see what they were like without…"

"Annie," Jeff scooted a little closer. "Are you okay? You haven't weirded us out, just scared us when you went and knocked yourself out like that."

"Jeff I don't know what happened I just… wait… did you just call me Annie?"

"Oh good Lord in heaven she's lost her memory," Shirley moaned and cupped her hands over her mouth.

"I'll get something hard to bump her head with," Abed said. "That's how amnesia is cured in most sitcoms. Either that or a timely montage of all of the character's life memories that happened within the time span of the show."

"You're not hitting her in the head," Jeff narrowed his eyes at Abed then turned back to her. "Don't worry Annie we're going to take care of you."

"You remember me!" Annie sat up, ignoring how dizzy she felt. "He did it! Garrett brought me back!"

"Garrett?" Britta said as she placed a hand on Annie's shoulder and slowly guided her back down on the bed. "You must have really hit your head hard if you thought Jeff looked like Garrett when he brought you in."

"Jeff found me?" Annie said and turned her eyes back on him. "But… I thought you said that you wished I had never come to Greendale?"

The others immediately fired glares at Jeff and he ducked his head a little before locking eyes with Annie and squeezing her hand tight. "Annie… I was wrong. All of us were. We put too much pressure on you to make our Christmas Terrariums and we know you didn't mean to lose them, or that money for the Salvation Army. And I think I speak for everyone here when I say, that we need you in the Study Group. Not just because you are the only one that knows how to study. But mostly because without you, the Study Group would be just that, a study group. A random collection of students that got together to drill homework. You're the one that makes the Study Group more. You make it a family. You're part of our family Annie."

Annie made an 'aww" sound which was echoed by Shirley, Britta, and Troy. Before she knew it, Annie was the center of one of their group hugs, with Jeff hugging her the closest of all, his head hanging over her shoulder and against her neck.

After a few moments they released each other and Britta snapped something at Pierce about watching the hands, only to blush when she realized Pierce hadn't been hugging her at all but instead it had been Troy. Shirley and Abed went and grabbed a tray of Christmas goodies Shirley had made and Pierce started working on uncorking some champagne.

"What's going on?" Annie raised a brow.

"We didn't know if you'd be well enough to move when you woke up," Abed said. "So we decided to throw my Christmas Rager here!"

"But… but what about the lost Terrariums? And the money for the Salvation Army that I lost for the Dean? He said Christmas was ruined! And… what about… after we all fought I dropped out of school!"

"You did what!?" Shirley dropped a plate of cookies.

"I thought you all hated me and… I wasn't thinking straight and… I sent a letter of withdrawal."

"But Annie…" Britta's jaw hung open. "You can just tell the dean you didn't mean it and…"

"She doesn't have to tell the dean nothing," the voice of Professor Kane came over them all.

The bodies of the study group separated until she could see their bio instructor standing in the doorway. "I know about the Christmas Terrariums and you know without them all of you fail my class."

"But it's Christmas!" Troy pleaded.

"Don't you think I know that? Back in prison all we ever got for Christmas was some extra gravy on our potatoes. And… well… every year I just wished I had some group of people to be my family… like you guys." Tear appeared in the corners of his eyes. "So I guess what I'm trying to say is that… seeming how you all found the true meaning of Christmas Terrariums, you all get 'A's, except Winger. He gets a 'C-'."

"That's fair," Jeff nodded.

"Professor Kane!" the dean ran up then noticed there was an audience. "Hi everyone, hi Jeff… Professor Kane! I need your help! I found all the Salvation Army money! That mean's they're not going to declare war on the school!"

"What do you need my help for then?"

"But someone also sabotaged the computers. I won't get any emails from the last 24 hours! That means I can't email them and tell them not to send their Salvation Tanks and mounted Salvation Submachine guns!"

Kane sighed and followed the dean. By this time the group each practically stood at attention, as soon as they left Shirley cheered followed by all the rest. Nurse Jackie put on some holiday music and Pierce went to work on the champagne again.

Britta, Nurse Jackie, Troy and Abed all started dancing and Jeff lingered by Annie's side. She sat up not really feeling the slightest bit dizzy at the moment. Jeff tried to help her out of the bed but she let go of his hand and hopped out. She grinned up at him and he motioned toward where the others were dancing.

"Happy Holiday's Annie," he smiled.

"Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah Jeff," She motioned for him to follow.

On her way over, Annie glanced at the doorway. Garrett stood there along with Todd of all people. Garrett nodded to Annie and she nodded back before starting to dance. Somewhere she thought she heard Angel Garrett tell Todd that his assignment was Britta and by the time she looked back, Todd had fainted and Garrett was dragging him off. She shook her head and smiled before turning back to dance with her study group.


End file.
